Gaff hook



March 12, 1940. J. s. NORTON ,193,073

GAFF HOOK Filed Jan. 3, 1939 INVENTOR. JA N 5 Non r0.

Z' VGJQ A TTOR NE Y5,

50 gitudinal slots 3 in the end thereof.

Patented Mar. 12, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics GAFF HOOK I JohnNorton, San Francisco, Calif. Application January 3, 1939, Serial No.249,075 2 Claims. (01. 43--5)- @The present invention relates toimprovements in gaff hooks used for landing fish, and its principalobject is to provide a device of the character described, which willgrip the entire body 1.5 of the fish from opposite. sides, and thusgreatly facilitating the landing of the fish by insuring a firmer holdat a more advantageous point near the central portion of the body oftheifish.

It is further proposed to use a landing device *10 of the characterdescribed in which two cooperating hooks are provided at one end of apole or handle for gripping the body of the fish and operating means atthe other end of the handle for causing the hooks to close on thebody ofthe 15 fish at the proper time. i

It is further proposed to use hooks of particular construction, whichwill reach almost around the body of the fish, and which are providedwith two spurs for gripping the body of the fish simultaneously at anintermediate portion of the body and from below, and shaped so as tofirmly confine the fish in the space defined by the two hooks.

Further objects and advantages of my inven- 25 tion will appear as thespecification proceeds.

The preferred form. of my invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my invention, a portion being brokenaway and parts be- 30 ing shown in section;

Figure 2 a fragmentary detail view showing the hooks in grippingposition; 7

' Figure 3 a side elevation taken at right angles to that of Figure l;

35 Figure 4 a perspective detail view of a sleeve used as part of thehandle, and

Figure 5 a cross-section taken along line 5-5 of Figure 3.

' While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish tohave it understood that various changes or modifications may be madewithin the scope of the claims hereto attached without departing fromthe spirit of the invention. I

45 Referring to the drawing in detail, my device comprises a suitablehandle I, which is preferably straight and about two and one-half feetin length, and which terminates, at, its lower end, in a sleeve 2havingdiametrically opposite 1on- The slots are preferably stepped, asat 4, so as to be wider at their outer ends.

In the wider portions of the slots are pivotally mounted, as at 5, twooverlapping hooks '3, and 5 the narrower portions of the slotsaccommodate a transverse sliding bar 1, the ends of which project beyondthe sleeve and are connected, by means of links 8, to correspondinglyprojecting operating ends 9 of the hooks. A spring H) with-- in thesleeve bears on the end of the solid portion of the handle, as at H,and, through a Washer 12, on the cross-bar 1 to urge the same outwardly.and to thereby urge the hooks into wide open position as shown in Figurel.

A rod or wire I3 is connected to the cross-bar, 10 l at one end andextends through the sleeve 2 and a deep longitudinal groove it cut intothe handle for connection to an intermediate portion of a trigger l5pivotally mounted in the upper portion of the handle, as at "5. 1,5

The upper portion of the trigger is notched, as at H, (see Figure 3), toreceive a loop {8 formed in the upper end of the rod H3.

The handle extends somewhat beyond the trigger and is formed with asuitable hand hold, as

at l9, and if the trigger is pulled upward by a person gripping the handhold, the hooksare drawn together, as shown in Figure 2 to impinge uponthe body of a fish, the outlines of which are indicated at 2! The hooksareof peculiar formation, as shown in thefigures of the drawing, and arecurved substantially along the lines of a parabola to form terminalspurs 2i, which turn slightly inwardly from the parabolic: line. Whenthe spurs engage the body of a suitably sized fish, as in Figure 2, theygrip the lower body portion of the fish from opposite sides and'ha've atendency to urge the fish upwardly toward the bottom end 'of the sleeve.I

In addition to the terminal spurs, I provide a set of intermediate spurs22, which project inwardly from an intermediate portion of the hookcurve and which in their extremities may substantially parallel theterminal spurs. lhe length of the intermediate spurs is preferably suchthat a line connecting the tips of the two spurs at each hook strikesthe hook shank substantially at the beginning of the hook curvature. Theintermediate spurswill strike the body of the fish substantially in thecenter, as shown in Figure 2, and they also have a tendency to lift thefish body toward the handle so that the fish is firmly held at fivepoints in normal operation. The intermediate spurs may be used also ingripping smaller fish than the one illustrated.

It will be noted that when the hooks are in open position, as in Figure1, the spacing between the terminal spurs exceeds the spacing betweenthe intermediate spurs, which allows tion them over the body of the fishand then pulls the trigger, whereby the spurs are made to engage withthe sides of the fish body in the manner shown in Figure 2 and to firmlygrip the fish.

In case it is desired to hold the trigger in active position, a smallslide 24 may be provided to slide underneath the trigger when the latteris pulled upward, and a suitable thumb rest 25 may be provided on thehandle in opposing relation to the trigger.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a handle having a sleeve atone end thereof, the sleeve having registering longitudinal slots, across member extending at substantially right angles to the sleeve andbeing movable in the slots and having its ends projecting beyond thesleeve, a pair of hooks pivoted in the end of the sleeve in cooperativerelation for opening and closing movements, means connecting the shankends of the hooks to the projecting ends of the cross member, springmeans confined within the sleeve and bearing directly upon the lower endof the handle and the central portion of the cross member for urging thecross member in one direction to spread the gripping ends of the hooksapart, and manually operable meansvfor moving the cross member in theopposite direction for drawing the gripping ends of the hooks towardeach other to grip an object therebetween.

2. In a device of the character described, a handle having a hand gripat its upper end and a thumb rest extending lengthwise of the handle tobe engaged by a persons thumb when grasping the hand grip, a leverpivoted to the handle and extending from the handle on the side oppositethe thumb rest to be engaged by the persons index finger, a pair ofhooks pivoted to the lower end of the handle in cooperative relation foropening and closing movements, yielding means urging the gripping endsof the hooks to-spread apart, and means connecting the hooks with thelever, whereby manual movement of the latter will effect a closingmovement of the hooks to grip an object.

JOHN S. NORTON.

if so

